UC and Miami to Host Rallies Against Hate Crimes

Coinciding events are in response to recent assault on gay students in Oxford

University of
Cincinnati and Miami University student organizations will hold
rallies at 5 p.m. Thursday in response to the March 24 assault of two
students — one from UC and one from Miami — on the Miami
campus. The events are meant to show support for GLBT people and call
for an end to hate crimes.

Miami University
student Michael Bustin and a male friend were reportedly walking home
from a drag show when someone yelled a derogatory slur at them. Bustin's friend was then attacked by four men who also reportedly assaulted Bustin when he tried to help, according to
WLWT-TV. The two men had been holding hands during their walk home.
Miami University sent a memo to the community and reached
out to Bustin soon afterward.

The rallies’ Facebook
page says the other man was a University of Cincinnati student.

The
police have released a sketch of one of the accused attackers and are
seeking the public’s help to find those involved.

Both events will begin
at 5 p.m. Those attending the Miami rally are encouraged to wear
"Love is the New Label/White Out Hate" shirts or just white
T-shirts or tops. After the rally, participants will line up holding
hands in a demonstration of solidarity and to show that “no one
deserves to be hurt for showing affection.”

More from the rallies’
Facebook page: “We, the students of the LGBTQA alliances of Miami
University and University of Cincinnati, stand united in our demand
for a safe places to live, learn, work and show affection. It is
unacceptable for anyone to be assaulted, but it is especially
repulsive for the victims to be targeted because of their race,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any
other classification.”

The Miami rally will
take place at the Phi Delt Gates on the Miami Campus, while the UC event will take place
at the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Clifton Avenue. The
events are being organized by Miami Spectrum and UC Alliance.